There's snow on the ground and holiday music in the air, so we must be getting close to the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. No, not Christmas. We're talking about the period when people create lists of things and decide, as the glowering unnamed khan demands to know of Conan in Conan the Barbarian, what is best in life. This week tech industry association CompTIA has declared which cities are best in life. That is to say that CompTIA, which administers some of the most popular certifications in IT, has decided which U.S. cities are best for tech pros in life. The list is drawn up by considering a number of factors, such as projected employment growth, cost of living, availability of IT jobs, median salary among tech workers, and so forth. The bustling metropolis of Austin, Texas, is No. 1. If you want to kick up your heels at the freshest IT jam in America, however, then you should probably move to either North Carolina or Colorado, both of which rose up to tie with perennial tech glory hound California by placing three cities in CompTIA's first 20 spots on the Tech Towns 2019 list. Colorado claims Denver (No. 9), Boulder (No. 14), and Colorado Springs (No. 16), while North Carolina is noted for Raleigh (a sizzling No. 2), Charlotte (No. 6), and Durham (No. 13).
Training Industry Ranks Top IT Training Companies
We've also got news for anyone who is seeking out some high-caliber IT training to go along with their big career relocation scheme. Training Industry, the self-described "most trusted source of information on the business of learning," has released a list of the year's top IT training companies. The companies considered for the list were rated on a number of fronts, including breadth and quality of IT training content and courses, leadership and innovation in IT training, and company size and growth potential. Training Industry president Ken Taylor said that the companies listed cover the most sought-after IT training courses and certifications. "This year's Top 20 IT Training Companies are leading the way in the constantly evolving market for information technology training by expanding the breadth of their offerings," Taylor said. Among those companies that made the grade are Global Knowledge, Pluralsight, O'Reilly, Skillsoft, and New Horizons Computer Learning Centers.
British Computer Society Releases Second AI Certification
The British Computer Society, the longstanding "Chartered Institute for IT" of the United Kingdom, is forging ahead on trailblazing path begun earlier this year by adding to its portfolio of certifications in artificial intelligence (AI). After releasing the BCS Essentials Certificate in Artificial Intelligence earlier this year, BCS officials have now followed up with the BCS Foundation Certification in Artificial Intelligence. BCS officials state that the new certifications are the first and only credentials of their kind, staking a bold claim to educational exclusivity in a sector of IT that is widely expected to shape the next few decades of technology innovation, invention, and expansion. The BCS AI credentials were developed by industry experts to "support professionals in this innovative and fast-growing field that holds immense potential for the business world."
Cisco Learning Network Trumpets CCNA Study Group
One of the most hotly anticipated IT certification developments of 2020 is the scheduled reboot, on Feb. 24, of networking titan Cisco's entire certification pyramid. The biggest change will occur at the foundation level, where Cisco is blowing up it previously multifaceted, multi-credential approach to associate-level certification, and condensing its entire Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) portfolio back down into a single CCNA credential. In advance of the release of the new CCNA, Cisco Learning Network is advising aspiring certificants to join the official CCNA Study Group. In a post to Cisco Learning Network's Learning News blog, community manager Karlo Bobiles characterizes the study group, which is already 300 members strong, as being the "ultimate CCNA resource." Among the benefits of membership are discussions led and monitored by Cisco SMEs (subject matter experts), access to interactive study sessions, and access to official quiz material. If you've been chomping at the bit to dive into the CCNA reboot, then this could be an excellent place to start.
That's all for this edition of Certification Watch. Please keep your certification news and tips coming to the GoCertify News Editor.
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